Bhubaneswar : Altogether 169 players including 54 girls are taking part in the Odisha State U-15 Open and Girls Chess Championship, which kicks started at Sailabala Women’s College in Cuttack on Monday.

Aditya Ranjan Samal and Sarthak Debata are rated first and second rated player in the open category respectively. Similarly, among the girls, Priyanka Routray and Women Candidate Master Shrey Srumti Mohanty become first and second seeded respectively.

By the end of the second round in the inaugural day, 11 girls were shared the top berth with two points each in the girls section, while in the open category 28 players jointly placed in the top with two points each.

Among the players 53 rated players are participating in the three day meet. The top four finishers of both the category will represent the State in the coming National U-15 Boys and Girls Chess championships to be held at Kolkata from July 17 to 25.